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i LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, | 

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I] UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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HISTORICAL SKETCH 



-OF THE- 



FIRST PRESBTTERUN CHURCH 



i'ORT WAYNE, INDIANA. 



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-BY- 



J, L, WILLIAMS. 



Read Before the Coiii»:reetioii 



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OCTOSIEI^ le, ISSl, 



THE SEMI-CKNTENNIAJ^ OF ITS OlKiANIZATlON 



DAILY NKWS 

l-OKT WATNK 




HISTORICAL SKETCH 



-OF THE- 



FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 



FORT WAYNE, INDIANA. 




'%atfii' ^mtmifiUvenccri of flw '&^/me. 






-o- 



A Lecture Before tlie Coiioreetion 



?5* "b' 



OCTOBER le, issi. 



THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL OF ITS ORGANIZATION. 



-BY — 



^^•^'- ^^'^'^ 



J. L: WILLIAMS, 



DAILY NKWS PRINTING 



FORT WAY'NE. 







It has not ])iH'n the aim of tliis sketch to give a connected history 
of Fort Wayne. The incidental alhisi(jns to events which connect 
it witli the earliest explorations, and witli the dawnifigs ot civiliza- 
tion in the noilhwest, cannot tail, however, to snggest the idea tliat 
Fort Wayne shon Id find in some one a competent historian. Few 
points in all the west furnish more interesting material. 



i 



The formation of the Presbyterian Historical Society by the 
general assembly has already induced many valuable contributions 
to the early religious history of the country. Its object is com- 
mended by the highest considerations. If the commencement and 
growth of our material prosperity are worthy of an enduring record, 
much more the early straggles and lal)ors for the establishment of 
a religious and moral influence, by which alone this prosperity can 
be sanctified and blessed. The christian citizen will ever turn to 
the church of his choice as an institution claiming affectionate 
regard, and its history, even back to the feeble beginning, will ever 

possess the highest interest. 

The place in which Providence has cast our lot, has claims upon 
the historian. Fort Wayne is historic ground. It has reminiscences 
extending back a hundred and seventy years. Dillon, the historian 
of Indiana, was led to believe from his researches that it was often 
visited by the early French explorers before the year 1700, and 
thought a trading post was estalilished here prior to 1719.* Vau- 
dreuil, then Governor of Louisiana, writing in 1751, mentioned 
Fort Miami at this point. It was a small stockade fort, built by 
the French, and situated near the St. Marys, probably in the vicinity 
of the canal aqueduct. The dim outlines of this fort was^traced by 
Wayne in 1794 and by Col. John Johnston in 1800. 

The appointment of Col. Johnston as Indian agent here in 1800, 
by the second President, John Adams, signalized the practical as- 
sertion of civil government by the United States at this remote out- 
])ost. He was a gentleman of intelligence and gi'cat moral worth. 
With his family,, he lived in the Fort some twelve or thirteen years, 

*If Judge Law be Cdrrect in fixing 17lu for the settlement at Yinoennes, 
we can scarcely err in claiming at least as early a date for the trading post 
here. The progress of the traders and missionaries wa.s from Canada. A 
ri'jiort of La Salle, written probalily in 1(582, mentif)ns the route by the 
Mauiiiee and Wabash as the most direct to the Mississippi. It is improbable 
that the Freiicli would pass this thmnged center of the ^liamies (sometimes 
called Twightwees in their early history,) at the carrying place between these 
riveivs, without establisliing here one of that cordon of military posts de- 
signed to connect tlieir (^anadiaii and Mississijipi settlements. 



and then retired to his lann on tlie Big Miami, two miles above 
J*iqiia. soon afti'i' Ihc coiiiiiicneement of the war of 1S12 willi En- 
g\nm\. Among tiie ehil(h\'n of Col. Johnston born in the Fort here 
was one wlio alterwards became the wife of John 1). Jones, a promi- 
nent citizen of Cincinnati. Mr.s. Jones, a few years ago, visited Fort 
Wayne to see tlic old Fort, and was welcomed by the citizens, both 
on her own account and tlie memor}' of lier respected pioneer father. 

fJen. Jolm E. Hunt, " well known business man of the Maumee 
valley, a State Scnatoi' in early times, and brother-in-law of 
Lewis Cass, was also born in tlu' old Fort in 1798. He died at Toledo 
in 1877, aged seventy-nine years. 

The Junction of these ri\ers, the St Marj's and the St. Joseph, 
justly claim,<a page in the annals of that momentous contest be- 
tween French and lilnglish civilization — between Romanism and 
Protestantism — which was waged with alternating success, and with 
short intervals of repose, for more than a hundred years, terminating 

soon after the fall of Quebec, in the establishment of British su- 
premacy b}- the treaty of 1 7GH. The massacre of the little English gar- 
rison, three-fourths of a mile north from the site of this church, on the 
27th of 3Iay. 1763, during Pontiac's war, was accomplished through 
the treacherous influence of French traders over the Indians. This 
was among the last exertions of French power on this continent 
east of the Mississippi. It was a subsiding wave on the outer circle 
of the long agitated waters. This Fort stood on the east bank of 
the St. Joseph, near its mouth. Its capture was accomplished 
through the (U'ceit of an Indian girl, the instrument of those older 
in dissimulation. T'nder pretense of the dangerous sickness of an 
Indian woman, the English commandant was prevailed upon by this 
gill, in whom he had confidence, to venture out of the F'ort for the 
relief of the woman. ()n apijroaching the designated wigwam, he 
was pierced by two rillc halls, shot from behind its cover, and tell 
(lead n|)on the ground. Col. Johnston sa3's : "I often saw the aged 
squaw who slew the English commandant," referring to the woman 



5 

who ill her youth was iiuule the agent in treacherously beguiling 
him to his death. 

The aim of this sketcli does not permit us to dwell upon the great 
contest closed in 17(io. Yet from this advanced stand-point, look- 
ing backward a hundred and twenty years, we cannot fail to perceive 
that ill its results were involved the institutions, civil and religious, 
of all this immense region from the Lakes to the Gulf, and from the 
Allegheny range to the Rocky mountains. Two variant civiliza- 
tions had been confronted for two generations in conflict for the pos- 
session of a continent. What, if at the seige of Quebec, the key to 
the St. Lawrence and the Lake region, the arms of Catholic France, 
instead of Protestant England, had prevailed ? What, if over all 
this western country, soon to shape the nation's destiny, Romanism 
had been ever since striking its roots deep into this virgin soil ? 

The bare suggestion is enough to impress strongly any observing 
mind, witli the limited progress the French have made in their efforts 
to colonize and possess distant lands, in contrast with our vigorous 
Anglo-Saxon people, in the front column of wliose advancing civili. 
zation are ever found the school master a free press,* and an open 
Bible. It is stated that at the present time there are from 150,- 
000,000 to 200,000,000 of Bibles and parts of the Bible in print 
throughout the world, in 220 different languages and dialects. 
The number is doubtless from five to ten fold greater in the English 
than in all other languages together. So likewise with the printing 
press, another great power of our times. Of the millions of sheets 
falling daily from the press in all lands, an overshadowing proportion 
is in our tongue. In no other language is the press free. No where 
except in our English speaking countries has liberty, civil and reli- 
gious, more than a stinted gi-owth. She seems to have chosen our 
own mother tongue in wliich to chronicle her persistent, earnest 
struggles and lier suljliine triumphs. It has been aptly styled the 



(I 



* Under French lulc in ('aiiada, IVimi the tounding of (.Quebec in 1608, t 
tlie treaty of ees.-ion in 17t).3, no \illage school wa.'^ ever estal)lished, nor a 
.sinu'lc printing ])res.« set n]). — J'xiiicrnff. 



6 

'•JMissionarv languiige;" it is also Iho langiiaiic oi' progress and of 
I'vvv institutions. 

From these facts, with the ainazino- increase and diffusion of the 
Anglo-Saxon race, the conjc'cture has been plausibly maintained 
that the Christian religion. Christian civilization, and Ciiristian 
literature, are to spread over the earth mainly tln-ough the 
English language — British connnerce, sometimes backed by British 
arms, preparing tlu' way in one (hrection, as in India, :ui(l American 
enterprise and progress on this ccmtinent and the islands about us. 
How signally and sadly would North America have failed in })repa- 
I'ation for her jiart of this august mission, had French power, ideas 
and civilization, and not the Knglish, been dominant in this western 
domain for the past hundred years ! 

We know that by translation chiefl}' can the Bible be made kncnvn 
to existing generations of the heathen. Yet in an extended view, 
reaching far into the future, there is ground for large expectation 
and cheering Iioik' in the gradual diti'usion among the nations of 
tlie English language, carrying with it to the understanding of men, 
not only the Bible, liut the gi*eat ideas and the genius of Christianity 
and Christian civilization, so interwo\'en with the entire fa]»ric of 
English literature. K\ery missionary station with its school; every 
esttiblishment foi' legitimate American or British commerce, is an 
entering wedge for the language nnd loi- the race. It is the infusing 
of a vivifying element w'hose spreading influence must tend to 
(piicken the inert mass.* In \ iew of this co-operative mission 
among the nations of lower culture, may we not reasonably hope 
that these English speaking nations, at least as against each other, 
have fought out their last war; and tliat in their plans of progress 
and territorial ac<iuisition, peaceably or by conquest, their advances 
hereafter will run in concurrent, non in contlicting lines? 

"'■■"The transliitiiiii i>\' the I'lblo into the tonn-ucs of natiims of low niurul 
tniiiiiiin- lias hccii fninul a malli'i' of cxoei'diiig difticulty. * * * 
" Kn<;lish is ciiijjhatically tlic lain;Uiige of coinmerce, of civili/.ation, of 
social and religious tVci'doin, of ]ii-ogrt'.ssi\H' inti'lligcncc, of active catliolic 
l)liihnitln'oj)y; and therefore, beyond any tongue ever used by man, it is of 
I'iglit the cosmopolitan speech." — Mfi/-s/i's f,rrf/ii-rs nn t/ir Kiiiil'ish lt<ni<iii(ti}r. 

See also a))pendix note A. 



Tli()uo,"li Wolfe ami Montcalm may not have nnderstood it — as 
men seldom nnderstand the part they aet in the comprehensive plans 
of i'l'ovidence — yet the long-pending conflict which they decided on 
the lleio'hts of Abraham is now seen to have ))een a war j'or the 
establishment of British anthority and the spread of tlie English 
language and protestantism on this continent. We cfwi scarcely, 
however, resist the belief that i)erceptions of unwonted clearness 
were given to these brave commanders, as their noble spirits passed 
together from tlie l)attle-field. A\'o!fe, when aroused from the death 
stupor by the thrilling words, "The French give way everywhere/' 
though a few days before, with enfeebled constitution contemplating 
an early natural death with dismay, recovered strength to say, '-Now 
God be praised, I die happy." Was some bright vision of the future 
achievements and i>lory of the Anglo-Saxon race in the new world 
vouchsafed just as life ebl)e(l away? And IMcmtcalm. on being told 
l)y the surgecm that he could live but a few hours, replied: "So mueh 
the better; I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec." Was 
a glimpse into the far future opened up just at the close of his pro- 
longed, heroic struggle for his l)eloved France,' pn^senting to his 
dying vision, with oppressive vividness, the waning of the (Jallic 
race on this continent? However this may be. the fact to ns is 
l)alpable. that mighty influences were set to work by the decision 
of that old French and English war.* Tn far-reaching results, 
the earth has witnessed no contest comparalile to it in all its annals 

Four nations, at different periods, have held dominion here. For 
nearly half a century prior to the conquest of Canada, in 1 7(>3 
the French flag waved at the meeting of the St. Joseph and St. 
Marys. The French adapted their manners and character to forest 
life. Schoolcraft says the Indians of the northwest often referred 
to '-the days of French supremacy as a kind of golden era, when 



*Hon. Samuel F. Vintnn, in arti-iiing the qiiestioji of boundarv lietweeii 
Virginia and Oliio. maintained conclusively that, according to the law of 
nations, the claim of France to the valley.s of the St. Lawrence and Mississ- 
ippi, founded on discovery and occujiation, wnf^ jirr/ecf, and that of England, 
based on her colonial possessions along the Atlantic slope, not even •Avespecf- 
ahle jn-etenfie. The sword seems, therefore, to have been the only arbiter 
which could have given this vast countrv to English civilization. 



8 
all things in tlicir arthirs were 1)etter than they now are." Then 
came the English in December, ITOO.f and the British flag was run 
up ill its stead. Their manners were reser\e(I and haughty, far less 
adapted than the genial, pliant and vivaeious Freneli to win the 
. c'onlideiice ol" tiie Indians. In no particular is there greater dis- 
similarity i-ii the two nations. The I'^renrli, like the Si)aniards, 
readily meet a lower civilization upon an intermediate platform, as 
in Canada and Mexico. The genuine Anglo-Saxon takes no step 
downward. English society in Calcntta is as select and high-toned 
as in London. To elevate, near to its own level, or else to destroy 
by gradual encroachment and pressure, seems to lie their mission 
among the sluggish and decaying nations. Whether or not the 
Indian sagacity was adequate to a full perception of these diverse 
tendencies, certain it is that the Miamies of that day wei'e haters of 
the English. In less than three years the British flag was lowered here, 
and its iiroiid. di'fiant folds trailed in the dust.* The conspiracy of 
Pontiac — greatest of the ivd race, in genius, force of character, and 
statesman-like combination — had done its work. Nine of the 
twelve English forts in the northwest, scattered from Presque Isle 
(now Erie) to (Jreen Bay. and from Mackinaw to Ouiatenon (near 
Lafayette) were cajitured in the sjjace ol" a few Aveeks. Only Detroit, 
Kort I'itt. and (liven liay. successfully resisted the simultaneous 
attack. Thence forward for thirty-oiii^ years, as in the preceding 
century, the barltarian power and glory of the Miamiesf at this 
point was unchecked, until the advent of Wayne, in ITiU. To the 
Indians, as to us, it was a chosen central home and place of thronged 
concourse. Here the tril)es and bands gathered in council Ibi' war 
or for peace. + History attests their attachment to it. Their appeal 
at the Greenville treaty in IT!*."), after their country had l>een con- 

fDetruit was surrendered to the English forces under Major Kt)gers on the 
29th (jf November, 17H0. .\n otticer was then sent southward to take posses- 
sion of Fort ^lianii and Oviiatenon i Wea Piairie). — Parkmnn. 

* It was about the period ot these stirring changes, that the leading 
Miami chief. Hicharch illr, \\ as liurn under '-the Big Ap))le tree," which 
stood some sixty rods from tlie .supposed site of this old Britisii fort. This 
tree is now gwne, hut in ]S()0 it was yet standing, eleven feet in circumfer- 
ence, connecting tlie memories of tlic past cciituiy witli tlie jircscnt. 

f See appiMidix note B. 

JTliis })hice was called Ivc-ki-on-gay in tlie .Miami dialect: Ke-ki-ouge 
in tlie Pottawattamie. 



9 
(luered, for permission still to occup}' this spot, was touching. 
Jjittle Turtle spoke of this carr3ing place as '' that glorious gate 
which your y<^"ngcr brothers had the happiness to own, and through 
which all the good words of our chiefs had to pass from the north 
to the south, and from the east to the west." But we must not 
forget that the earth is for cultivation, not permanently for the 
chase. For great and beneficent providential ends — the greatest 
gooil to the greatest number — civilization and religion were to be 
introduced, and the red man has passed away. Under American 
rule has risen this beautiful city of some thirty thousand inhalji- 
tants, with railroads and telegraphs, churches and free schools. 

A modern writer says : "Indolence, prodigality, and want of fore- 
thought, are sufflcent causes whv men and nations should forfeit 
their right in the soil as the patrimony from God." Witlujut enter- 
ing upon these deep m^'steries, it is nevertheless i)lain that the oc- 
cupation of this part of the continent by a people who would develop 
its long dormant resources, was, just at that period, demanded by 
the economical, social and moral necessities of the world. Much as 
we may pit}' the poor Indian; little p,s we should palliate the sever- 
ity, often needless, with which he has been driven back; yet we may 
not question the All-wise disposings which gave this fertile land to a 
race that is making it the grainary of the world, and will fit it liy 
the close of this centur}-, for the abode of eighty millions of peo- 
ple, exhibiting the highest type of christian civilization. 

The expedition of La Balm against Detroit in August or Septem- 
lier. 17S0. also connects Fort Wayne, by memorials written in blood, 
with the war of the Revolution. This daring forest chieftain, with 
earnest sympathy for the American cause, and, we must think, with 
more zeal than knowledge, collected at Kaskaskia and Vincennes, 
about an hundred men, and set ont for the capture of Detroit, then 
in possession of the British. The signal achievement of Col. George 
Rogers Clark, a few months before, in taking Vincennes, then a 
British fort, with one hundred and seventy men, no doubt incited to 
this daring adventure. Seizing the goods of British traders at Fort 
Wayne on his march, the Miamis, instigated by the English, at- 



10 
tacketl his encampment on the River Aboite, 1 1 miles south-west * 
In tliis l):ittle LaBahns little army, with few exceptions, was en- 
tirely cut off. 

The saii'acious mind of AN'ashington. at an early period, hail fixed 
upon the junction of these rivers, as of co)nmandino: im[)ortance for 
a strong militar}' post, and the main purpose of the campaign of 
17!tl. was its occupation as a centre of military operations for the 
North West. The instructions to (reneral St. Clair were prepared 
under his special direction. His plans contemplated a garrison here 
of one thousand to twelve hundred men. including the communica- 
tions. The defeat of St. Clair's army, when within two d;iy's march 
of this place — a defeat more disastrous than that of BratUlock — 
marred all his well matured i)!ai\s for the defense of the North West. 
The news of this terrible reverse furnished the occasion on which 
Washington, for once in his life, is said to ha\e l)een overcome 1)V 
an ungovernable burst of passion. As the scene is described by 
Irving, his wrath was tremendous. His private secretary who alone 
was present, was .awed into silence by the appalling tones in which 
the toiTent of invective was poured fourth. "Its all over !"" said 
he, "St. Clair's defeated — routed !"' His ecpianimity was soon re- 
stored, and Washington was himself again. But the imi)ortant 
national objects hinging upon this campaign, and on the military 
occupation of this point, as they lay in Washington's mind, are thug 
revealed. We need not marvel that his great soul was stirred to 
its inmost depth. A favorite military plan had disgracefully failed 
for the second time. Out of an army of fifteen hundred. nin(> hun- 
dred had been cut off. Kentucky and western Pennsylvania were in 
mourning for the slain. A thousand miles of defenceless frontier 
were thrown open to the merciless savages, rendered more savage 
and merciless. V>y this second repulse of the the American army, in 
its attempts to occupy this, their favorite place of rendezvous, the 
Federal city of the tribes forming the Miami confederacy. This 
success, following the defeat of Harmar's army the year before, 

*Tliis encampment of La Balm was near what was afterward the village 
of White Kaoeoon, a Miami Chief. 



11 

whoso buttle-field was within rifle shot of this church building, had 
emboldened the Indians to believe that a final ovei'throw of the 
''pale faces'' was quite within their power. Great was the conster- 
nation on the frontier. The Presbytery of Ked Stone, then the only 
l*resbytery west of the mountains, in view of these calamities past 
and impending, appointed a day of fasting and prayer throughout 
their then extended bounds. 

Harmar's principal engagement was on the tongue of land lie- 
tween the St. Joseph and Maumee livers, the site of the main Indian 
village. The carnage was especiallj^ terrifflc in the conflict that 
took place in the lied of the St. Joseph river near its mouth, and 
also in the retreat of the Americans across the Maumee, half a 
mile below the junction, still known as Harmar's Ford. The ex- 
treme point of land just below the mouth of the St. Joseph, now so 
attractive in rural peaceful beauty, is said to have been the accus- 
.(^omed place for burriing prisoners.* In 1790. before Harmar's 
campaign. Mr. (xamelin was sent l»y Grov. St. Clair to the Indians 
here as a peace commissioner. Three days after he left this point, 
al)out the first of May, as if in savage derision of the overtures of 
the United States Grovernment, an American was l)rought here and 
l)urned.t 

The campaign of 1794 — -the third under Washington's adminis- 
tration, directed to this central point of Indian strength — was suc- 
cessful. After defeating the Indians at the Eapids of the Maumee, 
Gen. Wayne selected here a commanding site, and in October of 
that year, Fort Wayne was completed and placed under the com- 
mand of Major Hamtramck. Thence forward peace reigned on this 
frontier, until the war with England in 1S12. From the erection of 
the Fort here, eighty-seven years ago, this has been a center of 
American civilization and influence. 

Col. John Johnston, of Ohio, now deceased, whose active and 
useful life was connected with three generations, wrote, in Novem- 
ber, 1859, to a member of this church, as follows: 



* These statements were made to some of our older eitizeiis by Chief 
Kichiirdville, Mr. Peltier, and others. See appendix note C. 
■f l)ill^(in"s History. 



12 
"I was appointed in the Indian Department in 1800, and stationed 
at Foi-t Wayne. My habitual station was tliere for twelve or thirteen 
years. There was not a [*rotestant clergyman of any denomination 
that performed ilivine ser\ic'e at that post during the time stated. 
* * * q"'iie only officer of the army, within my 

knowledge, who pul)liely professed Christianity, was Col. Vose, who 
commanded at Foit Wayne about the year 181(1 or 1817. Thig 
noble Christian soldier was in the constant practice of assembling 
his men on the Sabbath day to read the scriptures and converse 
with them relative to their duties and the salvation of their souls — 
a rare instance of Christian fidelity and the power of divine grace. 
I never knew to what denomination he l)elonged. The conduct of 
such a man and under such circumstances can only l)e appreciated 
by persons familiar with the allurements and temptations of military 
life. * * * The nearest white settlement was Hamilton 
county, Ohio, and the post office, Cincinnati, two hnncU'ed miles dis- 
tant from this post. Fifty-eight years ago it took twenty-seven days 
on horseback from Fort ^^'ayne to Washington City, and now the 
distance can be traveled by rail in two days." 

The desire naturall}' arises here to learn further of Col. A^'ose, the 
commencement of whose pulilic histor}' resembles so much in strength 
of religious purpose that of Havelock, in India, or of Capt. Vicars 
who fell so IjraA'cly before Sebastopol, only two days after leading 
the devotions of a public religious meeting in the English camp 
As yet. we ha\e only learned, through the departments at Washing- 
ton, that he died in the army at New Orleans, in 1845. and that he 
ever maintained the character of " a very correct and honorable 
man, an excellent otllcer, without fear and without reproach."'* 

When (ien. Harrison, in September, 1812, marched to the relief 
of the garrison here, then besieged by the Indians, the expedition 
was accompanied by Kev. Matthew G. Wallace, an honore<l Presby- 
terian minister, as Chaplain to the army. If, as ma}' l)e presumed, 
he preached to tlu; soldiers while here, his was the first proclamation 

*A letter afterwards rocoivcd fri)iu Rev. Dr. KinLjsLurv, nii.s.sidnary 
aiiion^ the Choctaw Indians, refers ti> the after life of Col. Vose. See ap- 
pendix, note I). 



13 

of the gospel in Protestant ibiin. on this ground. 3Ir. Walliice died 
at Terre Hante, his liome. 

Thougli not strictly witiiin the range of this history, yet in any 
record of early religions effort at I^'ort Wayne, the work of Rev. Isaac 
McCoy, of the Baptist chnrcli, nnist not he omitted. From .May, 
1820, to December, 1822, he resided here, preaching the gospel, and 
maintaining a Mission School, chietly for the benefit of the Indians. 
In Angiist, 1822, a Baptist churcli Avas organized at Fort Wayne, 
consisting of the mission family, two Indian women and one black 
man. Mr. McCoy's faithfnl and intelligent missionary laboi-s here 
and elsewhere in the Indian territory, have passed into the pul)lislied 
history of the country. 

But the distinction of having first preached to the actual settlers 
of Fort Wayne, according to tiie distinctive faith and usages of the 
Presbyterian church, and undt'r ecclesiastical appointment, is due t^ 
the Rev. John Ross, a native of Ireland, l)eing familiarly and rev- 
erently known thi-oughout the two S^'nods of Indiana as " Fatiier 
Ross." This venerable servant of God afterwards died in Tipton 
county. Indiana, at the age of ninety-three. 

In December, 1822, Mr. Ross, then pastor of a church in the New 
Jersey settlement, on the west side of the Big Miami, opposite the 
town of Franklin, visited this post, under appointment of the gen- 
eral assembly to labor for three months as a missionary among the 
destitutions of this frontier region. The settlement here comprised 
about one hundred and fifty or two hundred souls, including French 
and half-breed families, mainly engaged in the Indian trade. The 
nearest white settlement was at Shane's Prairie, forty miles southeast, 
and except as the trace Avas dotted with an occasional settler, a day's 
journey apart, all northwest of Piqua, Ohio, was a wilderness. The 
missionary took passage in a light two-horse wagon with Matthew 
(iriggs, afterwards, with his family, members of the Fort Wayne 
church, then of Leltanon, Ohio, and visiting Fort Wayne on a 
trading expedition, witli hats and dried fruit. This incident, though 
in itself trivial, aptly exemplilies the fact exhibited on a larger 
scale, in all past history, down to the late commercial treaties lie- 



14 
tween the great Christian powers niid China — that commerce, under 
the orderings of ]*ri)\ idcnce. is made the means ol" spreading tlie 
gospel over the eartli. The ship of commerce carries themissionarv 
to India or Cliina. and tlie structure of Anglo-Saxon civilization, 
there maintained for commercial ends, sustains him amid heathen- 
ism. .Material interests and governmental regulations, though not 
so designed, thus become the scatfolding on ^\ hich ministers of the 
gospel stand while building the spiritual temple. 

Father Ross, in a letter dated November 2()tli, 1859, describes the 
peril and exposure of tlie first missionary journey ; how their first 
night's encampment in the woods, a few miles north of Dayton, was 
made memoral)le by the howling of wolves on every side ; how the 
snow storm aftei'wards met them in the wilderness with intense cold, 
which froze fast in the mud the wheels of their wagon ; how, failing to 
strike fii'c from the flint, the woodsman's last hope, they were com- 
pelled to leave their conve3'ance under guard of a faithful dog; how 
by walking and leading their horses, the cold being too severe to 
ride, they reached Fort Wa3-ne at a late hour on a wintry night; and 
with what kindness he was received by one who afterwards became 
a ruling Elder* in this church — a kindness, the remembrance of 
which, after the lapse of forty years, was still fresh in the old 
missionary's grateful heart. 

Father l\oss continues : '• The next day ])eing the Sabl)ath, I 
preached in the Fort morning and afternoon, because there was no 
other convenient place to preach in. * * * j visited 
the place five times from 1S22 to lS2(i. T was once sent out to 
Fort Wayne by the Synod of ()liio.'' 

The business records ol" the Home Missionary Society furnish the 
following memorandum of tlu^ correspondence of that period : 

"Allen TInmilton. post master at P\)rt Waj'ne, Decemlier 10th. 
1828. wrote, saying tiierc iiad lieeii no minister there since the town 
was laid oflT. He urged their claims by saying that the canal is laid 
ofl[' through the place ; that there are in the town and immediate 

*Siunn('l Hanna. 



15 

vicinity, live liundred iiiiiabitants, and no prcaeliing within ciglity 
miles, &('., &c'. 

In response to this appeal. Kev. Charles K. Furnian was ap})ointe(l 
a missionary for Fort Wayne. On the 20th of Fel)ruar\ , 1S3(), he 
wrote to the Mission Kooms in New York, from this plaee. as follows: 

" I arri\e(l here on the K^th of Novembei'. F^'om this place, one 
liundred miles in CAery direction, it is a perfect wilderness. * * 
This county only contains seven or eight hundred inhabitants, be" 
tween three or four hundred of whom live in tow^n. 1 never knew 
for the same number of inhabitants in any place, so many attendants 
upon the pi*eaching of the gospel. Without a librar\-, except a \'ery 
small selection of tracts, I have a small, though interesting, Sabbath 
8(^hool. -x- * * There are aliont seven or eight wlio 
have been professors of religion in our church l)efore, and 1 think 
a church might now l)e formed of at least a dozen mem])ers. * 
One lady in the place has been, I trust, born into the kingxlom. 
The people are hospitable, and have more intelligence and liberality 
of feeling than any similar town I have found in the country. ' 

After preaching some six or eight months, Mr. Furman passed 
on to other fields. 

In June. 1831. Kev. James Chute, of the Presbytery of Columl>us, 
visited Fort Wayne, and on the first of July following, at the request 
of the few Presbyterians then residing here, organized the First 
Presbyterian church of Fort Wayne, consisting of eleven memliers. 
On the -ith of October, 1831, the church was received under care 
of Miami Presbyter}', whose place of meeting was some one hundred 
and twent}- miles distant. 

(_)f the first members of this church, two were half-Indians, who 
had before, in 1820, joined the Baptist church under the labors of 
Rev. Mr. McCoy, missionary to the Indians at this post. They 
were nieces of " Litte Turtle." the celebrated war-chief of the 
Miarais. the force of whose fierce courage, as leader of the savage 
hosts, our countrymen had felt on this spot in the bloody conflict 
with Harmar's army, in 171)0, and again in the defeat of St. Clair, 
on the upper Wabash, in ITl'l. They were daughters ol Capt. 



1/ 



\f- 



16 
Wells, who, at the age of twelve years, had I)eeii taken prisoner or 
rather stolen) in Kentucky and adopted by the Miami tribe. 

( )!' Little 'riiille. Col. Jolinston thus wrote to me in Noveml)er, 
IS,")!): •• .Mt'sliekunno<;li(juoli. or the Little Turtle, was ol" mixed 
blood, half .Mohican, half .Miami. * * :(: | ]^JJ^,^y i^jj,j 

intimately — the gentleman of his race. lie died at Fort Wayne, 
and was buried, as he deserviMl. by the commanding otiicer, with al' 
the honors of wnv due to his high character and r:ink." With great 
l)r()prietv, the spot which he so l)ravely defended against Ilarmar in 
17!)0. was selected as his burial [)lace. 

('apt. Wells fought by the si(U' of his Chief in the memorable bat- 
tle with 8t. Clair's army. .Vftcrwards in the time of calm reflection, 
with dim memories still of his childhood home, of brothers and 
playmates, he seems to ha\e been harrowed with the thought that 
amongst the slain by his own hand, may have Ijeen his kindred. 
The approach of Waynes army in 1 7!>4, stirred anew conflicting 
emotions. ])ase(l ui)()n indistinct recollections of early ties of coun- 
try and kiudri'd on the one hand, and existing attachments of wife 
and children on the other. He resolved to make his history known. 
With true Indian characteristics, the secret purpose of leaving his 
adopti'd nation, was, according to reliable tradition, made known in 
this manner. Taking with him the war chief, Little Turtle, to a 
favorite spot on the banks of the Maumee, Wells said : "I now 
leave your nation for my own people. We lia\'e long been friends. 
We ari' friends yet, until the sun reaches a certain height, (which he 
indicated.) From that time we are enemies. Then if you wish to 
kill me you may. If 1 want to kill you I may." At the appointed 
hour, crossing the river, Capt. Wells disai)peared in the forest, tak- 
ing an eastern direction to strike the trail of Wayne's army. Ob- 
taining an interview with (Jen. Wayne, he became ever afterward 
the faithful friend of the .\mericans,* though living chiefly with the 
Miamis until killed in the Chicago massacre in 1S12, having gone 



""At (iiic tinu^ Wells was ■ ndiaii .\!j,-i'nt at Fm-t Wayne, ]>}' appDintniciit nl' 
tliu GiivL'riuiK'iit. 



17 
to that besieged post on a hazardous mission lor the relief of his 
friends.t The daughters of Capt. Wells. Mrs. Turner and Mrs. 
Hackley, were educated in Kentucky, and are yet kindly remember- 
ed l)y some in this church and comnuuiity as ladies of refinement 
and intelligent piety. The house of one of them, Mrs. Ann Turner, 
standing on the present site of Colerick's Opera House, on Colum- 
bia street, was the appointed place of weekly prayer, where bless- 
ings were sought upon the little vine planted in the wilderness. They 
now rest lieside their kinsman, the war-chief, in the old orchard near 
the junction of the rivers. 

Of the little flock of eleven, whose names were enrolled at the 
beginning, all, pastor and people, have passed from the church be- 
low, save two ladies. 

In all this pai't of the North- West, from Piqua even to the Sel- 
kirk settlement (now Winnepeg) in the British possessions, this, 
at its organization, was probably the only church of the Presbji:er- 
ian type. 

The want of a place of worship, affording reasonable comfort, was 
here a chief hinderance of church progress for the first six years. 
Six or eight different rooms were occupied in succession within this 

period. The religious services connected with the organization were 
held in the open air under a rude shelter of l)oards, near the junc- 
tion of Columbia and Harrison streets, on ground now occupied by 
the canal basin. For a time, the little brick school room, about 
twenty l)_y twenty-five feet, then standing some two hundred feet 
south-west of the present count}' jail, in a cluster of sumach shrub- 
bery, was the place of worship. Then the Masonic Hall, on the 
site of Hill & Orbison's warehouse, a room perhaps, thirty by forty 
feet, was occupied until driven out in June, 1S33, by the advent of 

fThe wif(! of the Commandant at Chicago, i.s understood to liave been 
WelLs' niece. 



18 
the first printing press ever set up in north-eastern Indiana, J for 
whose convenience, we maj^ be assured, it was most willingly yielded 
1)}' Pres})yterians — a people who have ever stood in the front ranks 
of Protestantism, for the dittusion of knowledge through a free and 
independent press, and who, we may safely trust, will vindicate this 
historic claim, by being among the last to yield the freedom of dis- 
cussion and the untrammeled dissemination of thought, under 
whatever specious pretext of public good, the encroachment shall 
^. come. Next a carpenter's shoi) on the north side of Columbia street 
-whi^ 'o R. W. Tajlor'a otor e room now otaiH te? was for some length of 
time the sanctuary. At the close of each week's work, the shop was 
hastily transformed in its adaption from material to sacred use, by 
removijig the shavings and adjusting the benches, minns their 
backs, with the work-bench for a pulpit desk. A small room on 
the opposite side of Columbia street, was for a short time used, as 
was likewise a room in the (Jd brick tavern, in the same street, on 
the site of fN^Bash^ store room. During the summer of 1883. and 
afterwards in 1835 and 1836, the old brick Court House, long since 
gone to decay, was occupied as a place of worship. One one Sab- 
bath, now distinctly remembered, if not on more than one occasion, 
the congregation were compelled after the services had commenced 
to go forth from one of their humble sanctuaries, and were seen fol- 
lowing their pastor, with bible and hj-mn-book in hand, in search of 
a place of less discomfort; having been sorely persecuted, not by 
Po/e or King, but l)y the elements, eagerly taking advantage of 
some outrage, against the laws of practical science, liy the chimney 
liuilder. Such were the wanderings and adjournings of the littk; 
congregation until in 1837, they found a home and resting place in 
their own church building, the small frame forty feet square, near 
east end of Berry street. 

This history has to-day its counterpart in many a place within the 
wide range of our advancing s(!ttlements, whose appeal for aid to 
the occupants of cushioned seats, and otherwise pleasant and com- 



JTlie Port Wayne Sf'iitiiicl, cstnlilislicd by TIk.s. Tigar and .S.V. H. Noc;!. 



19 
tbr'taljlc c'dilk'i'.s, needs no elociuonco for its enforcement, otlier tluin 
the simple statement of sucli i)ri\ :iti(»n and endnrunee. 

In that little frame church, on what is now the site of the beau- 
tiful residence building erected in 1881 by Charles McCulloch, Esq., 
wi're oi'ganized both the Synod of Northern Indiana and the Pres- 
bytery of Fort Wayne, the former in October, 184H, and the latter 
on the 1st day of January, 1845. Interest was imparted to the <jc- 
casion of organizing the Synod, by the fact that the opening sermon 
was preached by a venerable pioneer, Rev. John Wright, of Logan- 
sport, who, twenty-nine years before, at Chillicothe, had taken part 
in the oi'ganization of the S3'nod of Ohio. 

That was a period of progress and growth, and the frame church 
in a short time became too small. The enterprise of erecting the 
commodious editice now occupied, was considered as early as 1844. 
The corner stone was laid by the pastor. Rev. H. S. Dickson, with 
ai>propriate religious ceremonies, in October, 1845. The l)asement 
of the new building was first occupied for public worship in 1847, 
and the upper room completed and solemnly dedicated to the wor- 
ship of Almighty God in November, 1852, with religious services, 
suited to an occasion of so much interest and joy, to all who loved 
the sanctuary. The sermon was preached by Rev. Thomas E. 
Thomas, D. D.. then President of Hanover College. /? 

A 1 )rief notice of those who have preached the gospeL is appro- 
priate to this historic sketch. The labors of Rev. James Chute 
were continued in humble, self-denying faithfulness, from the organ- 
ization of the church till called to his rest on the 28th of December, 
1835. His memory is ])lessed. Following the death of Mr. Chute, 
the pulpit was supplied, first in l8oG, by Rev. Daniel Jones, and 
after him by Rev. Jesse Hoover, a Lutheran minister, until October, 
1 837. Rev. Alexander T. Rankin was next invited to this field. He 
entered on his ministry in Oct,ol)er, 1837, and continued to labor 
here until Hepteml)er, 1843. Rev. William C. Anderson was called 
. to the church in the spring of 1844. Though declining to accept 
the call, he took charge of the church and preached for some six 
months, gaiiding it, under the providence of (iod, most happily 



20 

throuirli the period of its uti'mIcsI trials and daiiux-r. Tn Sei)tiynl>{.!r, 
Mr. Andersons liealtli iiaviiiti' tailed, a call was lorvvardoil to.ll. S. 
Diekson. Mr. D. was installed })astor in November, 1845. Until 
this time tlu' lixed i-i'lalionsliij) of pastor and people had not been 
enjoyed l^y this eongri'gation — the several ministers iiiiviug kiborod 
as stated supplies. In the fall of 1S47, Mr. Dicksou having resign- 
ed the pastorate, Kev. Lowiiian 1'. ITawes supplied the pulpit for 
about six months, in August, 1848, l\vv. J. (1. Riheldatfer, then of 
the gi'aduating class of I'rinccton Seminary, accepted a call and was 
installed as pastor, continuing in that relation until he resigned in 
IS.")!. Tu Xovemlu'r, 1851. Hev. Jonathan Kdwards. D. I)., was in- 
stalled as pastor. He resigned in July. 1855, to accept the I'rcsi- 
dency of Hanover (\)llege. and was succeeded by llev. John M. 
Lowrie. T). 1).. who was installed in November, 1856. During the 

vacancy l)efore the settlement of l)r. Lowrie, Rev. J. H. JJurns sup- 
plied the pulpit foi- a few months. The pastorate of liev. Dr. Lowrie 

continued to the time of his death, September 20, 1807. Tn 
Marcli, 1808, Rev. Thomas H. Skinner, D. D., accepted the call of 
this congregation. Dr. S. resigned September 18, 1871, to accept a 
call to Second Presbyterian church, of Cincinnati. February 5, 
1872, Rev. J). W. Moffatt, then a i)astor at Georgetown, D. C., accept- 
ed a call to this church. This is the ninth year of his pastorate. 

The total number of admissions to membership in this clun'ch 
since its organization in 1831, has been — on profession of faith, 49-4; 
on certificate from other churches, 504; aggregating, 1,058; (adding 
the seven original members makes 1,005.) The present membership 
is :)!)5. Ma}', 1844. six memlicrs were dismissed at their own re- 
(juest, who with others were then organized as the Second I^resby- 
terian clnu'di of l''<)rt Wayne. Again on the second day of Decem- 
ber, 1807, thirty-four nicmbci's were in like manner dismissed for the 
purpose of being organized as the Third Presbyterian church of Fort 
Wayne. 

For several years after the organization of the church. Presbyter- 
ians, Methodists, and Baptists worshipped together, their respective 
ministers preaching on alterniite Sal)baths. The num])er of church- 
goers seemed to small too divide. It was with difiiculty, moreover 



21 

tlmt even one \)hwv of meeting, affbnlinL!; reasoniible eomfort, could 
l»e proeiirt'd. Tliere are those yet living who can bear grateful tes- 
timony to seasons of marked religious enjoyment in the union meet- 
ings of tliat period, held amid thcsi' rude surroundings, with so little 
of the elegance, or even the convenience, with wliieh christian con- 
gregations in Fort Wayne are now blessed. 

In any sketch of religious ijrogxess, efforts for instructing the 
children in the word of (lod should by no means be omitted. The 
first Sabl)ath school in this place was organized in 1825, fifty-six 
years ago, ))y James Hanna, an Elder in the church of Dayton, then 
on a visit to his children residing here. For some years all protes- 
tant denominations united in the work. In 1S4(I the Methodists and 
Lntlierans, and in 1842, the Baptists, estal)lished separate schools 
in connection with their respective chnrches. Thus, with some in- 
terruptions in the earlier times, this church 8abl)ath school has con- 
tinned for over a half century, and with the Sabbath Schools sustain- 
ed l)y other churches, not less nseful, has contributed materially to 
the cause of morals and religion in this region. 

Nor should the Ladies' Missionary Circle be overlooked. This was 
instituted at an early period. Many are the instances in which the 
families of missionaries laboring in the destitute surroundings, have 
been essentially relieved through their unolitrnsive labors. The ladies 
of the church have also contributed largely through tliis agency, 
first and last, towards erecting and furnishing this church building. 

Such are some of the incidents in the military and religious his- 
tory of Fort Wayne. Besides the chain of events l)earing strictly 
upon the progress of the Presbyterian church, other points of his- 
toric interest are brought prominently to view. 

First, its early occupation by European nations. France and 
England, each in turn, maintained a garrison here, as an exercise of 
sovereignty over this part of the continent. Great questions of in- 



•>•> 



tiiiitc rcuch, imolviiig (lomiuion. race, lunyiiagt', law,* aiul religion, 
have hung upon the petty display ol' military power at the junction 
oi" these rivers. 

Second, the signal success for a time attending the struggles of 
the Aborigines in rc'ijelling the approach of American civilization. 
No other point was defended with such oljstinacy and valor. Suc- 
cessively, La Balm, Harmar and St. (Mair, were overwhelmed or 
driven back by savage courage and sti'ategy. Sliall we ascribe more 
than ordinary \igor ;uid force to the Ued men, whose place of 
rendezvous for war or peace was here ? rnc^uestionabh', they were 
e(iual to any of the tribes in f(jrce and courage. Or, was there a 
peculiar beauty and achiptedness to Indian life, in the rivers and 
forests surrounihng this old carrying place, inciting to daring deeds 
for its (Uifense ? We ai'c assuretl that no country ever filled more 
completely the range of an Indian's wants, or for him possessed 
more (;f tlu; attractions of home. 

Third, the i)ersistence of the United States (jrovernment in estab- 
lishing and ijiaintaining its power here. Four campaigns, three un- 
der Washington's and (jne under John Adams', administration, were 
directed to this point. 

Fourth, when opened to civilized pursuits, enterprising men were 
attracted iiere' by l)usiness facilities and commanding position. 
Some of these brought with them an appreciation of religious 
pi'i\ilrges — the Iruits of early training,— and when the missionary 
came to seek the scattered shee[) in the wilderness, were ready to 
respond l)y co-operative eftbrts. The missionary's report in 1830, 
represents at that date an extraordinary attendance upon the 
preaching of the gospel. The stati' of society lu-re at the present 



*Tlu' Kn'Ufh Colonists in Caiiailu, loiii;' uttiT tlie iutrndiKtioii of EngHsh 
jurispnidt'iice, wore irrccoucilablv opijosed to the trial l)y j»u-y. A Canadian, 
tcstityiiiLC before tlie British House of Connnons in 1774, said, "that the 
Canadian- had no clear notions of jrovernment, havint; never been used to 
any such sjx'culations.'" — 'DllUm'H IlUtory. 



23 

time, with very inucli to l)e ameudecl. in oile particular, exemplifies 
tlie lasting inHnent-e of first settlers upon future character and 
habits. ''As the twig is I)ent, the tree inclines." Truthfully ma}- it 
by said, in ISSl as in ISCO. we are comparatively a ehurch-going 
people. In few towns or cities in tiie west is the population, Pro- 
testant and Catholic, in larger proportion found in the sanctuary on 
the Sabbath than at Fort Wayne. 



NOTE A. 

Thr tnll.>xvinn'. iVnui FhwUt's Kn-li~h Gnummn: presenting' thu.-uim- gen- 
erul idea in u aitfereat form, Nva> tir>t n.^tieed while X\u' foregoing was pas:<ing 

through the press. 

-Tne ancient tendeney was to divrr~ity, the modern is t.. unity ot hmguage. 
And if, in the early ages of the \v..rld, eauses were in oii.'ration elsewhere, 
as well'as on the plains of Sliinar, whieh produeed aeonfusion of tongues in 
'the human raee, we are prepared to believe that eauses are now in operation 
whieh will jiroduee an opposite result. 

European and Ameriean eommerce is tinding its way to China and -lapau' 
and to every region where man is found, and is thus making a eommou 
medium of 'inten-course necessary. The missionaries of the cross, in preach- 
ing one Lord, one faith, one haptism, r,ne God as the father of all, not <jnly 
are promoting the sense of universal brotherhood through the race, but also 
the unitv of hmguage. Tims we can believe that if "one song shall em- 
ploy all' nati.uis, one language shall be the principal medium of inter- 

course." . ^ 

NOTE B. 

From the earliest records, the Miamies have been a leading and influential 
tribe. Bancroft savs: -The Miamies was the most powerful confederacy 
..f the west, excelling flie Six Nations. - ■-■ " Their influence reached to 
the 31ississippi, and they received frecpient visits from tribes beyond that 
river." Mr (4amelin, the messenger sent by Gov. St. Clair, in April, 1790, 
to know the mind of the Indians as to peace or war, after reading the Gov- 
ernor's speech to the chiefs and head men, in every village on th.- route 
from Vincennes, was everywhere desired to proceed to the Miami town 
(Ke-ki-on-gay.") They said, "you know that we can terminate nothing 
without the consent of our brothers— the Miamies." The impress of its 
name upon so many western rivers, shows the predominance of the tribe. 
The two Miamies of the Ohio >vill ever perpetuate it. The Miami of Lake 
Erie (now Maumee) was likewise named for the tfibe. The St. Joseph, of 
Lake Michigan, was called the ''River MUnnles;- when LaSalle erected a 
fort, and Henepin flrst raised the cross at its mouth in November, 1679. 
Our own St. Mary's was marked ^'Miamies' rirrr'- on the rude skeleton map, 
made to represent the western country at the time of Colonel Boipiefs ex- 
pedition in 1763. 

NOTE C. 

An Incident in Indian Life at Fort Wayne. 

About seventy years ago a white man was bound to the :-take for burning. 
The mother of the late principal chief of the Miamies, Richardville, (or Pee- 
jec-wa) herself a daughter of a chief, a woman of great influence in the tribe, 
"had made fruitless efforts to save him. The savages stood around eager for 
the cruel sacrifice, and the torch was ready to be applied. Kichardville, 
then a voung man, had been designated as their future chief, but not yet in- 
stalled." To him his mother applied, and placing a knife in his hand, bade 
him assert, at that moment, his chieftainship. Hushing within theinfurated 



26 

oiix-li', lie out the cords that ImiuihI the white man. — Thmiyh chagrined at 
the eircape of their victim, all applauded, a.* men, .savage nr civilized will 
iioiiDr a hold and decided charactrr. and hi> intiuenee and power were from 
that time estahli.shed. The kind liearted Miami wonnm contrived to secrete 
the w liite man. sending liim down the ^laumee in a canot' under a cover of 
furs and peltries, in charge of some friendly Indians. Many vear.s afterward:?, 
tlie chief, on a journey to AVashingtou City, stopped at a town in Ohio. A 
man approached him, throwing his arms around his neck in greatful embrace. 
It was the rescued prisoned. 

These facts are given un the authority of Allen Hamilton, Esq., of Ft)rt 
AVayne. as they were often related to him by the chief himself. 

NOTE I). 
PiXK KiDGK, Choctaw Nation. Feb. 23. 1800. 

31k. J. L. Williams, DkarSir: — Your letter of January 28 has just 
..i^onieto hand— ^ V*mt-lm|m ri«? respecting Col. Josiah X. Vose, of the United 
States Army. * * * He was stationed at Fort Towson, in the Choctaw 
country, from 1832 to 1840. I ciune to reside in this place in 1836, which is 
two miles from Fort Towson. During the four years of our residence so 
ne:ir to each other, our interconr-e was fre(juent and most gratifying to my- 
.self, and I have reason to think nuitually pleasant and profitable. 

Col. "N'ose and AVife were menll)ers of the Park Street Church, Boston. 
By request of Col. A'ose, I preached a part of the time at Fort Towson, and 
the word seemed to be etfectual to the salvation of souls. AA'hen I took 
charge of the church here, it was on the very frontier, not only of religion, 
but )f civilization. The church at the time consisted of fourmembers, two 
of them slaves; and westerly there was not, at that time, another Presbyter- 
ian professor of religion between this and the liocky Mountains. The two 
first additions to our little church were two Lieutenants from the Fort. One 
of them, Lieut. Barnwell, from South Carolina, was a son-in-law of Colonel 
A^ose. ••- * * The other was Lieut. Field, from Buttalo, X. Y. He sub- 
sequently married another daughter of Col. A'ose. He was killed at the 
battle of Monterey, Mexico. * * * Gardiner A'ose, a S(m of Col. A^ose, 
is a minister of the gospel, and at this time a professor of rlietoric in Am- 
herst college. 

Col. A'ose wa- a consistent Chri-tian gentleman to the day of his death. 
His example and influence were always for good, over the ottii'crs and men 
under his command. He took a lively interest in our missionary operations, 
and gave it not only his favor in everj- practicable way, biit also his substan- 
tial support. Col. A'ose was ever ready to conduct meetings on the Sabbath 
when 1 was absent, and to take an active pai-t in prayer meetings, and at 
the monthly concerts. The influence of such a commander, at a frontier 
post, among the Indians, is of inestinuible value to the country at large. — 

* * * More than sixty persons, including otflcers and their wives, sol- 
diers and ramp wonu'u. united with the church of which I have been the 
stated su})}ily. No post on the western frontier, it is confidently believed, 
has exerted as favorable an influence on the cause of morality and religion 
as Yort Towson. This is to be ascribed in a good degree to the influence of 
pious commanders. * """ * I shall never cease to give thanks to God for 
the favor he has shown us through the pious commanders that in his good 
providence have been stationed at Fort Towson, and in wbieh favor Col. 
A'^ose was preeminent. * * "' 

"Blessed is the man who maketh the Lortl lii> trust;" and blessings 
descend after him to unborn generations. 

Yovu-s trulv, 

C. KINGSBURY. 



NOTE K. 

On the Ladies' Missionary Work. 

The orgjini7.;iti<iii nf tlir LikI'h's' Ilmiu' .Mi.^siuiiury Circle i> alUulecl ti> in 
the preceeding histDvical .sketch. The Circle continues it,'- existence and 
work. Tint \u> full record of the amount of its eontrihutiou;^ to honn' mission.-- 
is ivttainalile. 

The Ladies Foreign Missionary Society was organized Dee. 1S71. 

The hidies of the three Presbj^terian churches of this city, met December 

18, 1871, and, under tiie direction of Mrs. Dickson, wife of a former pastor 

of this church, organized the Fort Wayne auxilliar}- of the Woman's 

Foreign Missionary Society, of Phikidelphia, and assumed tlie support of a 

missionaiw in China. During the ten years ttf its existence, $4:874.4;9 luive 

been collected by tlie society, of which §4000.00 have been devoted to the 

purpose above mentioned and the remainder to the current expenses of the 

society and gifts to special objects of interest in the missionary tield, for 
which the aid of the society has been solicited. 

NOTE F. 

Our Churches— In 1831 and in I88J— Their Sup- 
port Then and Now A Striking Contrast. 

Fron The Daily News of Jan., 23, ISsu. 
In cities like this the beginnings of society, religious and social, possess an 
interest tv those who come after. My friend, Abram Barnett, hands uie 
the following church subscription paper, circulated in Fort Wayne lifty 
years ago, which he recently found among the papers of his father, James 
Barnett, who at an early period removed fn>m Dayton to this place, and 
whose wife was a sister of Hon. Sam'l Hanna. Old settlers will remember 
the iirm of Barnett & Hanna as one of the earliest mercantile tirms. The 
town then contained 350 inhabitants. All Protestant denominatinus worship- 
ped together, and united in calling the first settled minister. The whole town 
could then only promise to pay a minister ;^258, as shown by the following : 

THE SUBSCRIPTION PAPER. 

W^e, the undersigned eitizen.■^ of Fort Wayne and its vicinity, being very 
desirous of procuring the services of a resident ministerof the Gospel among 
us, do agree to pay the several sums annexed to our names in aid of the 
support of Rev. James Chute for one year at this place. 

Fort Wayne, July 12th, 1831. 

Sam'l Hanna. $1-5.00; Allen Hamilton, 7.50; H. Hanna, 10.00; Smallwood 
Noel, 10.00; David Archer, 5.00; AVm. N. Hood, 10.00. 

At this rate as long as he shall live in Fort Wayne. . 

Z. B. Tenny, 6.00; James Barnett, 20.00; A. L. Davis, 5.00: Wm. 
Rockhill, 5.00; Sam'l Lewis, 5.00; Abner Gerard, 5.00; R. L. Britton, 2.50; 
Sam'l Edsall. 5.00; L. G. Thompson, 5.00; Ann Turner, 10.00; AVm. Sutten- 
tield, 2.00; Sam'l Brown, 2.00; Thos. Daniels, 5.00; James Mcintosh, Jr., 
1.00; James Daniels, 5.00; Philip Klinger, 10.00; James I). Klinger, 5.00; 
Johh D. Klinger, 5.00; Wm. Caster, 3.00. 

If he should remain a citizen. 

Ptobert Hood, 15.00; H. Kudisill, 5.00; J. H. Griggs, 7.00; Rebecca Hack- 
ley, 5.00; Mathew Griggs, 10.00; Mason M.Meriam, 5.00; John Jettcoat, 5.00. 
Hill cV: Henderson, 5.00; Lewis H. Davis, 10.00; Isaac Patterson, 1.00; Francis 



28 

Alexiindcr, 2.00; HiraJii AVoesc, 2.00; Simon Kdsall, 2.00; John B. Duhoii^, 
o.OO; Charles S. Griggs, 5.00; Win. Wilson, 5.00; Lewis Armstrong, 2.00; 
John Mcintosh, 5.00." 

Of these 44 leading men in 1S81, only Simon Edsall is living in 1881. It 
is gratitying, however, to state that some half dozen or more estimahle ladies 
who, in 1831, were wives, respectively, of some of the ahove .subsc'ril)ers, are 
still with us. 

Mr. W. P. Cooper, recently appointed 1>y our city council to compile sta- 
tistics, whose report may lie seen in all tlu' city papers, sums up the total 
church memhershi]) in the eleven distinct denominations in Fort Wayne, at 
tile present time, as 11.357; ami tiie value ot' church structures at $472,100. 
(^uite a wholes(jme contrast. 

Fort Wayne, in 1831, had no church huildings, lariic or small. The writer 
attended his tirst Sabbath service here in June, 1832, in the back room of 
Judge Haiuia's st<n'e, (Mr. Chute being the preacher.) Afterw'ards one of 
the ])laces of piddic wor^hip was the .Masonic Hall, on the site now occui»ied 
by S. Bash tt Cos warehouse. The building was a two story brick, severe- 
ly plain, proba])ly 24 by 30 feet, and when contrasted with the splendid 
Masonic Temple, now in course (jf erection, is dwarfed into extreme insigniti- 
cani'e in its proportions. 

Among the 44 citizens uniting in the call for a resident minister in 1831. 
are names that will be recognized over the State. They were men of mark. 
In their day they were known prominently in public atfairs — men of enter- 
prise and force of character. Indeed to reach this point at that period, 
through the iifty miles of wilderness surrounding us on every side, required 
force of character and ''push." 3Ierchandise reached us in pirogues (large 
canoes,) forced up against the 3Iaumee current by manual labor apjilied 
"from the shoulder;" while the Hour and bacon came down the St. Mary's, 
(if it did come at all, ) in similar crafts, with many nights encamjnnent on its 
banks. The sluggish current of this stream and its tedious meanderings, re- 
(piired of boatmen the exercise of two, at least, of the cardinal chi-istian 
graces, Patience and Hope, for tlie \ oyage was long and cheerless. 

In 1831 no church of Pres])yterian order had been organized between I'iijua, 
on the Big ^liami, and the Selkii'k settlement so called, on the Ked Piver of 
the north, now Manitoba, at which point a few Scotchmen had formed a 
settlement and organized a Presbvterian church. J. L. William.s. 

Fort Wayne, Jan. 23. 1880. 

NOTE (i. 

Totals of members received and moneys contributed to benevolence by the 
ihureh and of congregaticmal expenditures for the last ten years ; taken from 
the reports of A]iril. 1872, to April, 1881, inclusive : 

MEMBEKS UECKIVED. 

Mumlier I'eceived on examination, . . - _ 1]3 

certiticate, . . . . - lo^ 

CONTRIHUTIONS TO OB.IECTS OITSIDK IHE ( i iN(;KE(;ATIOX. 

Home Mission Board, ... - 86,108 

Foreign •' - - - - - 5,869 

Education, - - - - - - 1.480 

Publication, .... - 533 

Church Erection, .... - 3,077 

Ministerial Pelief; .... 1,528 

Missions to Freedmen. . . . . 729 

.Sustentation. ----- 514 

j!19,838 

24,352 



.Miscellaneous, including Bible Society, '{"i-act Soci(>ty, cS:c. 4,514 

General Assembly, ----- 305 

Congregational Expeiidittu-es includinn jioor t>f Congre- 
gation, Arc, cV:.. - " - - ' 60,003 



24,657 



Total for Tc, Y-ars, . - . . 84,660 



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